Author name: Steven Edwards

Leo Murray 13/4/21
This week the French national assembly voted to ban domestic flights on routes that could be travelled via train in under two and a half hours. The new rule, which is the result of a French citizens’ climate convention established by Emmanuel Macron in response to the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement, will capture 12% of French domestic flights. Though it’s more moderate than the convention’s initial proposal, which sought to ban all domestic flights on routes with rail alternatives of less than four hours, this is the first time any major economy has prohibited domestic air travel for environmental reasons. It’s also far more drastic than anything the UK has done to curb flight emissions.

Some consider them a curse, but it’s very hard to argue against the very real benefits smartphones bring to our lives. Whether it’s accessing social media, or taking a photo, most of us are using our phones all the time, and that simply means it’s quite easy to totally drain your phone’s battery during a normal day’s usage.
When we throw battery-sapping uses, like using GPS, or the camera, into the mix, then your phone’s battery life off a single charge could be reduced to just a few hours. Add to that the fact that a good bike ride can be far longer than just a few hours, and the scale of the problem becomes instantly obvious. And that’s before we even think about multi-day rides!
So, what practical steps can you take to guard against having a flat phone battery? Well, you really only have two options: use a power bank, or use a dynamo. 
We’ll give it a minute for the laughter to die down, after that one person at the back suggested solar charging as an option anywhere outside of the Namib desert.

Less crowded services, cheaper tickets and better routes came top of the public’s wish list to encourage increased use of public transport post-pandemic
Mark Moran 14 April 2021
Cars will continue to be the preferred mode of transport for around half of journeys post-COVID, a survey of travel plans by the Campaign for Better Transport.
The sustainable transport charity is worried that a resurgence in car dependency will put both climate targets and a fair economic recovery at risk.

Liberty Sheldon
The UN Task Force has urged countries of the Pan-European region to use the Covid-19 recovery as a turning point for greener, healthier modes of transport such as walking and cycling.
Bringing together over 50 experts from member States, international institutions, academia, public transport operators and industry experts, the Task Force set up in April 2020 by UNECE under the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP) has developed a set of key recommendations that member States can implement to support these efforts.
The recommendations are part of a policy document that discuss the immediate effects of the covid-19 pandemic and highlight examples of how countries have dealt with the crisis by introducing green and healthy mobility solutions.

Mark Sutton
CoMoUK’s fifth annual bike share report has found bike share to be a significant catalyst for people’s renewed interest in cycling, with 55% of users starting cycling again after using schemes.
Up from 44% in last year’s study, the rising tide comes in tandem with greater availability of such schemes. 29% of those who responded told CoMo that they had not cycled in five years and sometimes more.
Year-on-year, 47% more cycling journeys were tallied between March of 2020 and 2021 over the prior count.
Usage of bike share schemes was for 29% of participants an alternative to pubic transport usage during the pandemic and so in theory is generating new cyclists who had not previously cycled for transport. 33% of users went on to say bike share had impacted on their car reliance, which a separate study published this week shows is rising in tandem.

:excerptstartFiona Harvey 13/4/21Boris Johnson’s government is “too cosy” with vested interests in business to take strong action on the climate crisis, the author of a report on “the polluting elite” has warned.Peter Newell, a professor of international relations at the University of Sussex, said: “We are never going to have change while these actors are so close

:excerptstartFootage of what rider called a “bizarre sequence events” has racked up nearly 50,000 views on YouTubeby Simon MacMichaelFRI, APR 09, 2021A video of what a cyclist described as a “bizarre sequence events” including a driver calling 999 to complain that he hadn’t pulled over to let her past on a narrow rural road has gone viral

BBC News5 hours ago

A woman whose home has been crashed into 10 times has demanded action is taken to slow down drivers.
Ellen Keightley, 80, has lived near a sharp bend on Uppingham Road in Caldecott, Rutland, for more than 60 years.
Most of the collisions have only damaged her garden wall but, in the latest crash, her kitchen was “demolished” by a drunk driver.
Rutland County Council said it will make improvements to the road.

By Bernd Debusmann Jr